ASSET MANAGEMENT: Better Schedules, Cost Estimates, and Project Management Could Help Mitigate Risks to Washington Union Station Projects

What We Looked At
Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of the company’s scheduling, cost estimating, and management of the Washington Union Station near-term improvement projects and impacts on their completion.

What We Found
We found that Washington Union Station’s nine ongoing improvement projects face risks of delays and cost overruns due to weaknesses in their scheduling, cost estimating, and project management practices. In part, these weaknesses exist because the company did not fully implement its Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO) standards and other commonly accepted standards for project management.

Our Recommendations
We recommended that the Executive Vice President/Chief Administration Officer direct the Vice President for Stations, Facilities, Properties, and Accessibility to ensure that project managers use the EPMO and other commonly accepted project management standards to develop complete and integrated schedules, updated and well-supported cost estimates, approved project charters, and risk mitigation plans.